


The Quicksilver Playlist Collection

by TheSeaVoices, Weconqueratdawn



Series: Quicksilver Timestamps [7]
Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Character Study, Genderfluid Character, Genderfluid Will Graham, M/M, Nonbinary Character, Other, Playlist
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-25
Updated: 2019-11-12
Packaged: 2021-01-03 02:51:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21172211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSeaVoices/pseuds/TheSeaVoices, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Weconqueratdawn/pseuds/Weconqueratdawn
Summary: A collection of playlists to accompany the Quicksilver series and celebrating the upcoming final novel-length installment of the main series! Will, Bev, and Hannibal will have a playlist each, and there will be one for the overall series containing a few clues to what might be involved in the upcoming fic :)Enjoy!!





	1. Will's Playlist

**Author's Note:**

> Yes it's true, Quicksilver will be returning soon with a nice, meaty 96k word fic - [subscribe to the main series here](https://archiveofourown.org/series/452176) to be first in the know :)
> 
> In the meantime, have some music :)

#  [Listen on Spotify here](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2uGKujkDAPzwxOVJ5HsmQ2)

I'm very much a character-based writer and this playlist is very much a character-based playlist. The two rules I had when making it were that everything on it should be something Will would actually listen to and also that it should somehow sound like spring or summer. I can’t really explain better than that - for me, the real difference between QS!Will and canon!Will is that one is spring/summer and the other autumn/winter.

Here’s the track listing and a few notes (because I spend too much time listening to music on buses and thinking):

*

**The Fairest of the Seasons ~ Nico**

**Body Was Made ~ Ezra Furman**  
Ezra Furman is a genderqueer/trans singer-songwriter and was a major influence on me when I first began writing Will.  


**Genesis ~ Grimes**  
I play this on the first proper day of spring every year. EVERY YEAR. It sounds… green and woodland-y, like dappled sunlight. Don’t ask me how that works because I don’t know.  


**Grand Dérèglement ~ Frànçois & the Atlas Mountains**  
If _Genesis_ is the first day of spring, this is the first day of summer - that day when the heat first rises from the pavement but everything is not yucky and gross.  


**The Snowfalls ~ Whyte Horses**  
Somehow summery while being about snow? I hear big skies in this one too.  


**Some Candy Talking ~ The Jesus And Mary Chain**

**Don’t Be Scared, I Love You ~ Bill Ryder-Jones**

**Heart Of Gold ~ Neil Young**  
OKAY this here is one of Will’s inheritance tracks (songs passed down from one generation to another) - this has come from his mother (bet she has one of those _What Would Neil Young Do?_ posters).  


**Let X=X ~ Laurie Anderson**  
It makes total sense to me that Will would be a Laurie Anderson fan - she is witty and captivating and wise and humane and I find this track _extremely_ relaxing, especially on a summer evening (right up until the surprise panic attack at the end, that is). There’s no one else like her.  


**Wolf ~ First Aid Kit**  
I associate Will with nature (in general, not just in QS) and this is a darker kind of nature, almost like the Wild Hunt.  


**Northern Sky ~ Nick Drake**  
Another inheritance track from Will’s mother. Incredibly beautiful and light, I think this might be how Hannibal (in his best moments) sees Will.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Here's the Spotify link again](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2uGKujkDAPzwxOVJ5HsmQ2)


	2. Hannibal's Playlist

#  [Listen on Spotify here](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3LFcByRv2ej3cGcWk6QKxh?si=nPpI_FmYQIGGjW_5mYpLPQ)

Set myself a real challenge with this one - how to make a playlist to illustrate Hannibal without using classical music? Very difficult indeed but I didn’t feel qualified to go down the classical route and, anyway, other people have already done it brilliantly. So instead, whenever I came across something (anything) which I thought might work, I noted it down and over a few months (not even joking) whittled them down to arrange them into this playlist. Although this is technically a playlist for the version of Hannibal who exists in Quicksilver, I find listening to it really helps me get into canon!Hannibal’s head (and I do love being in his head - not sure what that says about me D:).

I doubt you’d find any of these tracks in Hannibal’s listening history (though I think there’s a couple he’d be intrigued by). Interestingly, lyrics are few and far between - that wasn’t deliberate but I think it helps provide some of that mystery which is so essential to keep in Hannibal’s character. We should never know too much about him - he can’t be explained, after all ;)

*

**The Dead Flag Blues ~ Godspeed You! Black Emperor**  
(Can’t believe I’m about to post a content warning for music but here I am doing it - if you’re not familiar with GY!BE you may not be expecting anything quite as bleak as this. It is ~bleak~, particularly at the beginning, and long too at just over 15 minutes. If you’re feeling anxious/fragile/depressed maybe listen later. But then again, maybe you’re one of those people who finds beauty and solace in bleakness no matter how you’re currently feeling, in which case crack on.)  
I absolutely LOVE this track and in this playlist it represents Hannibal’s initial trip through the Inferno as child and into adulthood. There is a great meta post on tumblr (I can’t remember who wrote it and neither can I find it, so if anyone knows the one I mean please let me know* - it’s from years back) which describes this process and goes on to say that, when Hannibal finally came out the other side, he decided to go back round again but this time on his own terms, like Alice down the rabbit hole. It has a slow bluesy-waltzy-wooziness which over time becomes a dance, an embrace of darkness; and the surprise ending with the rather childlike and made-anew sparkling melody makes me think of _I happened_ and the moment when Hannibal fully emerges, having gained control over his life and his story. (The spoken piece at the start could also describes Will’s canon experiences with Hannibal, ending in the fall.) Amazing, a perfect fit. *chef’s kiss*  
*Like a genie from a lamp, likeanoilspill popped up in the comments with a [link to the tumblr post I mentioned](https://curveofherthroat.tumblr.com/post/136091018781/the-best-thing-about-mikkelsens-hannibal-lecter) \- it's even better than I remembered.  


**A Summer Long Since Passed ~ Virginia Astley**  
"The piano has the quality of a memory," Hannibal said. With its schoolgirl-ish vocal and ringing church bells (which, if you went grew up in an English village a couple of decades ago, will probably provoke unbearable nostalgia - they always seemed to be ringing as we left school for the day), let’s just rename this track _Mischa_ and move on.  


**Birthday Song ~ The Fall**  
Mark E. Smith and Hannibal may not naturally seem to fit together but hear me out. This is an unusually romantic piece of poetry set to music - it’s melancholic and yearning, uneasily dreamy; it echoes with voices and thoughts. For ages I thought about writing a memory palace-set fic based on the lines _I am / in the next room / with you / always_ (I still might), and that’s enough reason on its own for me to include it here.  


**Helix ~ Kelly Moran**  
Sounds like music from a deranged and beautiful clockwork machine which someone is improvising to electronically (the sound is actually made by a ‘prepared piano’ - Moran placed objects among the piano strings to create a muted, percussive sound and accompanied it with digitally processed sounds). It starts small and spirals into something huge and lush and impressive. Basically, for me, this track is the sound of Hannibal’s mind working.  


**Remurdered ~ Mogwai**  
Gets Hannibal points for the title alone, but it’s the menacing sound this playlist was missing topped off with a baroque digital-harpsichord-esque crescendo.  


**White Rabbit ~ Jefferson Airplane**  
Aaaaaand we’ve circled right back around the beginning again. Prepare to re-enter the rabbit hole and see what awaits - Hannibal’s waiting to guide you, with a smile on his face and a Gladstone full of hallucinogenics. Feed your head, indeed.


	3. Bev's Playlist

#  [Listen on Spotify here](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/18aC7cuQ1zV5nSwx0K5gQf?si=1Sd9YblsRr-bX4n62_YIvg)

I love Bev very much and managed to make this playlist almost in my sleep. She’s fun and generally positive so each song had to be uplifting but intelligent. Also she has zero belief in the concept of ‘guilty pleasures’ - if she likes something, she likes something and she’s not going to care what anyone’s going to say about that. As Will comments in the final bit of Quicksilver: “Bev is terrifyingly well-adjusted.”

*

**Edge of Seventeen ~ Stevie Nicks**  
Everyone a little bit weird should have a Stevie Nicks phase. (I also think Bev is a little tiny bit gothy and Nicks is the gothy godmother, so there’s that as well.)  


**Don’t Waste My Time ~ Sault**  
Just listen to this and tell me you can’t see Bev dancing in her bedroom. Sooo punchy and badass.  


**Cloudbusting ~ Kate Bush**  
See Stevie Nicks - another wild and witchy woman to guide Bev (and us) through life.  


**Like A Prayer ~ Madonna**  
Classic Madonna, classic Bev. *thumbs up emoji*  


**Jersey Girl ~ Tom Waits**  
One of Bev’s inheritance tracks, I think, and one which makes her cry (in a good way) (and me too).  


**Friday Fish Fry ~ Kelis**  
Comes from the album _Food_ all about… food. And QS Bev is known for liking her food :)  


**Everyone’s a V.I.P. To Someone ~ The Go! Team**  
I love this track - beautiful to listen to on a sunny day when you’re heading somewhere fun. It’s got a big heart, somehow, and so does Bev.  


**Wichita Lineman ~ Glen Campbell**  
Another inheritance track, another song which makes Bev cry in the good way.  


**Galaxy Song ~ Monty Python**  
No guilty pleasures, no problem :)  



	4. Quicksilver Playlist

#  [Listen on Spotify here](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0uoCJH6UHwjFw7nRxD1tif)

This one is a mix for the series as a whole, a slightly easier task as several of the stories have titles taken from songs. I’m not entirely sure why I started to do that - I don’t usually like quotes and things as titles but it just seemed to make sense at the time. Generally I prefer songs with female vocalists for Quicksilver and there’s a particular sound which makes a song ‘Quicksilver’ for me, but I’ve never been able to articulate what it is. Here’s a selection anyway :)

*

**Sour Times ~ Portishead**  
Brilliant, brilliant song. This one opens the playlist as it contains the title of the new fic…  


**Deadly Valentine ~ Charlotte Gainsbourg**  
… but I very nearly opened with this one as, well, thematically this is the essence of the new fic :) :) :)  


**(Love is Like A) Heat Wave ~ Martha & the Vandellas**  
I had this one in mind for a possible titlefor _ages_ \- I thought it was probably destined for a summer-set sequel to _I’ll Be Your Mirror_ but that was before I realised I needed to finish the series off with a great big standalone fic. So I used it as the title for an a/b/o Quicksilver AU instead (it was just asking for it, really).  


**I’m In Your Hands ~ Mary Love**  
Gorgeous, gorgeous soul record (which is absolutely *great* for lip synching to) and provided me with a great title as well :)  


**Ruler of My Heart ~ Irma Thomas**  
The Soul Queen of New Orleans belongs in a Quicksilver playlist. This was another possible title which never quite made it - it was reinterpreted by Otis Redding and released as _Pain in My Heart._  


**Les Fleurs ~ Minnie Riperton**  
This was the track which started the song title theme - tbh, it’s the quintessential Quicksilver sound. I always love the line _Inside every man lives the seed of a flower / If he looks within he finds beauty and power_. Beauty and power - that’s Will :)  


**I’ll Be Your Mirror ~ The Velvet Underground & Nico**  
Nico is a wonderful vocalist for Quicksilver, sounding simultaneously grave and naive, innocent and experienced - these are the themes I’ve been playing with as I’ve developed the series and some of the key ideas underpinning the new fic. _I'll be your mirror / Reflect what you are, in case you don't know _are lines which could be said by either Will or Hannibal to the other.  


**Laisse tombe les filles ~ France Gall**  
A yé-yé French pop classic, written by Serge Gainsbourg (which is pleasing as his daughter has also found her way into this playlist). Yé-yé girl singers were sexy in a deliberately contrived naive way so we’re back to innocence and experience again - see pretty much every drawing TheSeaVoices has ever made of Will, though arguably there’s several layers of subtle meaning piled on top of those drawings simply because of who Will is and who Hannibal is.  


**Lay In The Sun ~ Ezra Furman**  
Furman’s second appearance in the playlist series - this is an anthem about running away and not looking back. Make of that what you will :)  


**A Case of You ~ Joni Mitchell**  
I very, very, very nearly called the new fic this but it became clear as I got towards the end it didn’t fit after all. One of Will’s inheritance tracks and it’s been on my list for a long while - Joni is a favourite of his mother.  
_You’re in my blood like holy wine_  
_You taste so bitter, and so sweet oh_  
_I could drink a case of you_  
_And I would still by on my feet_  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The manip used in the playlist banner was made by theseavoices for Quicksilver - [you can find the original here](https://quicksilverconnoisseur.tumblr.com/post/167424793845/manip-by-theseavoices-for-the-quicksilver-au-he)


	5. TheSeaVoices Drawing Soundtrack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A mixture of drawing moods, themes and favourites, not necessarily relevant lyric-wise but all very carefully selected for zero frustration - maximum flow, and perhaps an element of sexiness?
> 
> If you want a 43 track playlist for drawing or painting to - this works :)

#  [Listen on Spotify here](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4C2BKeUaUnNFbZ6RMT5QHI)

  
  
  


**1- Wallowa Lake Monster, Sufjan Stevens - **

Fucking love the fucking lyrics! Beautiful story and atmosphere and voice. I hadn’t listened to Sufjan much before watching Call Me By Your Name and just  _ caning _ Visions of Gideon for weeks after.

  
  


**2- Experiment In Terror, Henry Mancini**

From the 60’s noir thriller of the same name - so stylish and cool - what a soundtrack sir! I love the slow threat and slinkiness.

  
  


**3- My Body, Perfume Genius**

Similar slink here, dirty kind of glide. Have seen PG a couple of times live and just ABSORBED it into my soul - he dances up there like a beautiful table-dancer and the crowd is moving with him - always good albums to paint to.

  
  


**4- Danke Schoen, Wayne Newton**

Turn this way up! 21 year old Wayne blasts this out like a genius - his voice is amazing and so feminine. I know it from  _ Ferris Bueller's Day Off  _ originally where it is put to  _ very _ good use.

  
  


**5- My Little Brown Book, Duke Ellington, John Coltrane**

I can listen to Duke Ellington all day every day, those brushy cymbals in this are so lazy cool. That’s the third sixties song so far.

  
  


**6- One More Kiss Dear, Vangelis**

Bladerunner, one of my favourite films. WHAT A FUCKING SOUNDTRACK! This song was an accidental recording sung for the demo by Don Percival (not the intended singer) and the weird spooky vocal just worked for the mock vintage sound.

  
  


**7- Verbarhemiopia, Ed Dowie**

Released through Lost Map Records. I know these people and they always have great acts - I had a lot of exceptional experiences on the Inner Hebridean island of Eigg with them. This track is just a beautiful, pulsing moonbeam. 

  
  


**8- Just Like Honey, The Jesus and Mary Chain**

Such a sleazy, druggy, sexy song - dirty guitar and sensual drums - the opening drum intro, borrowed from (another 60’s track), Be My Baby by The Ronettes coming up on this list at number 38.

  
  


**9- Grid, Perfume Genius**

I rec the video!

  
  


**10- Here, Pavement**

Oh Pavement - a big part of my identity! - Live, they are a fucking dream! This song is a regular ear worm.

  
  


**11- Demon Host, Timber Timbre**

Great lyrics, great album

  
  


**12- Animal Friends, P-ano**

The only song I’m into on this album, the atmosphere is great. A sad little song.

  
  


**13- Sleepwalk, Santo and Johnny**

1959 so lets call it 60’s again XD. A great instrumental - that slide, steel guitar sound is lush and the asmr trigger of my dreams

  
  


**14- Hang Out The Stars In Indiana, Al Bowlly**

MY FAVOURITE SONG OF ALL FUCKING TIME. I can and do listen to this on repeat all through a drawing even if it takes a day. Withnail & I introduced me - one of my favourite films. And, of course Bowlly is on The Shining too.

  
  


**15- Wasted Teens, Monoganon**

Lost Map records again, excellent and crazy live performance from these on Eigg.

  
  


**16- The Alien, Ben Salisbury, Geoff Barrow**

Such dark foreboding anticipation. From the Annihilation soundtrack - brilliant film and score. I love Portishead too.

  
  


**17- Life Is Just A Bowl Of Cherries, Al Bowlly**

Hey cheer up everyone - fuck it!

  
  


**18- Wanna Sip, Fever Ray**

I do! This is from their live recording at the Troxy - I WAS THERE —- oooooooooooof fuck WHAT A SHOW honestly!

  
  


**19- Lipstick Stains, Jay Som**

“I wanted to musically capture the immediate and intense but beautiful feeling of infatuation.” —— yep!

  
  


**20- Heat Wave, Snail Mail**

Yes! They are brilliant - saw them live at End Of The Road and the tent was CRAMMED!!!!!! The atmosphere was amazing - she is so young and so great.

  
  


**21- I Love How You Love Me, The Paris Sisters**

Hello 1960’s! The creamy Spector sound and that spoken word is amazing.

  
  


**22- Shadow, Chromatics**

Loved this on Twin Peaks The Return, it’s a gem and perfect for drawing/painting to.

  
  


**23- Bankrobber, The Clash**

I always sing ‘Daddy was a vampire’

  
  


**24- Do Your Best, John Maus**

Slo-mo beauty.

  
  


**25- Canadian Girl, The Walkmen**

Nice vintage-tinged weirdness and soul.

  
  


**26- Wave of Mutilation (UK SURF) Pixies**

I love Pixies, only seen them live once but it was very, very, very special. Beautiful, laid back b side version that I prefer to the album track.

  
  


**27- Fell An Ox**

There was a time where all I would listen to was King Creosote - it was an obsession! I have lost count of KC gigs I’ve been to.

  
  


**28- Slow West, Django Django**

Love the film, love the soundtrack, loved Django Django up till the last few releases. There is a live version of this on KEXP from four years ago which is the one I usually listen to. Fucking brilliant live - got to see them on Eigg one time too. I rec the Slow West film if you haven’t seen it.

  
  


**29- Withnail’s Theme, Jack Hallam**

Great film and soundtrack - a big favourite.

  
  


**30- Portofino 1, Raymond Scott**

60’s! Ha - I hadn’t realised this at all till writing all this.

  
  


**31- Lady Gaylord, Raymond Scott**

From Manhattan Research Inc a collection of his advertising jingles and snippets from the 60’s

  
  


**32- The Pink Room, Angelo Badalamenti**

Filthiest song ever? From Twin Peaks Fire Walk With Me

  
  


**33- Goodnight Felicia, Chris Bear**

From the score to excellent TV show, High Maintenance. I do love Grizzly Bear anyway and cried at their last gig I went to - I always cry at gigs though so….

  
  


**34- Plainsong, The Cure**

My teenage self was a massive Cure fan and I dedicated my record player, school books, wardrobe and bedroom to them! Saw them live only once (the LIGHTS!!!!) because I was too young, obsessed over Robert Smith a lot! This song and the whole album were a big favourite. Beautiful. 

  
  


**35- A Reluctant Hero/Betsy/End Credits Taxi Driver, Bernard Herrmann**

I love Herrmann and I really love Taxi Driver. This is just…. ooof!

  
  


**36- I Fall In Love Too Easily, Chet Baker**

Jazzzzzzzzzzzzzzz 1954- what a pretty little voice.

  
  


**37- Looking Back I Should Have Been Home More, Richard Swift**

Just lovely, so sad about Swift.

  
  


**38- Be My Baby, The Ronettes **

The best opening song use ever- MEAN STREETS - turn this RIGHT up please.

  
  


**39- Go, Sparklehorse, Flaming Lips - Daniel Johnston cover**

Doubly sad because of Sparklehorse and Daniel Johnston. I have seen The Flaming Lips many times throughout their career - from small gigs to radio telescope gigs! What a fucking show!

  
  


**40- Every Night, Perfume Genius**

Just nice stuff. Like I said - live he is so sensual- his moves are amazing.

  
  


**41- Fireflies Made Out of Dust, Happy Jawbone Family Band**

Great track. Love the lyrics.

  
  


**42- Sleeping Lessons, The Shins**

Richard Swift again, on keyboards. I really enjoy the historical references and atmosphere on this.

  
  


**43- Smoke Rings, Les Paul, Mary Ford**

1952 - ssssso ssssssspooooky

  
  
  


  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Here's the Spotify link again](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4C2BKeUaUnNFbZ6RMT5QHI)

**Author's Note:**

> For a complete list of all the stories and for easy viewing of all the art, [we made a QS website](https://neil2112.wixsite.com/quicksilver).
> 
> [I'm on tumblr](http://weconqueratdawn.tumblr.com) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/weconqueratdawn) (and very occasionally on [pillowfort](https://www.pillowfort.io/weconqueratdawn) and [dreamwidth](https://weconqueratdawn.dreamwidth.org/)).
> 
> I also write my own fiction which you can learn more about [here](https://www.louskelton.com/).


End file.
